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[bigboss370]

Crossfire is beyond shit, very rarely are drivers updated to support new releases in time.

The cards are underclocked and aren't supplied with enough power so they have no OCing headroom.

You're insanely limited by its 1GB framebuffer.

Its stupidly large.

Its just not a very good card, its ill thought out.


I'll put you together a config that I consider the absolute furthest anyone should realistically go before they hit major diminishing returns on NCIX.COM, for a $50 fee they'll build it for you and cover it with a warranty. This way you know you're spending in all the right areas and getting great components that can easily be upgraded used throughout. It'll probably come in @ ~$2000 and be much better than that Dell rig.

hmm i'm hearing mixed things lol. im gonna wait and see what system you build, thanks

 

[brain_stew]

Right I've come up with a suitable rig for bigboss370, it comes to about $1800CAD after rebates and that's with assembly and testing. I went super high end but didn't spend any money wastefully.

6GB DDR3 from G. Skill no need at all for more than that unless you're doing rendering professionally or something.
1KW modular Corsair PSU (I'd have probably gone lower but it was on offer)
GTX 480
GT 240 - for a dedicated PhysX card, they're super cheap and the only time a GTX 480 really has trouble is with S3D or PhysX so I think its a much better buy than a second GTX 480 and its got a super low power draw.
80GB Intel X25-M SSD You can't spend $2000+ and not get an SSD, no other component will give you such an easily noticeable boost in general performance.
1TB Samsung F3
BD/DVD-RW combi drive
Core i7 930 No way you'd notice any CPU boost above this, its already super overkill for games. If you want any more grunt you'll be able to get a ~40% OC out of that thing if you want.
Corsair H50 water cooling Cos its cool and it means you can OC your processor later on if you want to.
Asus P6T X58 mobo with triple SLI + USB3 + Sata6 support

You get a copy of Resi 5 and Just Cause 2 free with it as well.

To me, that;s a much better rig than that Dell, and considering its more than $2k less, there's just no comparison. Even if they were the same price I'd choose this one in a flash

Links:

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=44398
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=51926
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48708
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34719&promoid=1058
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=41732
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49262
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48875
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=35603&vpn=P6T&manufacture=ASUS
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28797&promoid=1058
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=7842

As for the case I chose an Antec Nine Hundred for now. You'll gain no objective advantage by getting anything better than this but its a personal thing and if you want to spend a few more bucks on a fancy case, be my guest:

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21123&promoid=1058


If you need a copy of Windows, add this as well:

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=45271&vpn=GFC-00599&manufacture=Microsoft


Remember, be sure to set the GT 240 as a PhysX card in your Nvidia drivers if it does not do this automatically. Be sure to make the Mafia 2 demo the first thing you try out!


What do other GAFers think?

 

[Najaf]

did you get a heatsink? or you using the OEM one?

Just using the OEM for now. I'll pick up a quality sink when I go to overclock. For now, my budget on the rig has been maxed.

 

[bigboss370]

thanks for doing that for me. I'm gonna think on it a while and wait for other input as well. It comes to $2,072.03 btw

 

[brain_stew]

thanks for doing that for me. I'm gonna think on it a while and wait for other input as well. It comes to $2,072.03 btw

You've got over a $100 worth of rebates to cash in and the original price didn't include the OS.

 

[NarcissisticJay]

Right I've come up with a suitable rig for bigboss370, it comes to about $1800CAD after rebates and that's with assembly and testing. I went super high end but didn't spend any money wastefully.

6GB DDR3 from G. Skill no need at all for more than that unless you're doing rendering professionally or something.
1KW modular Corsair PSU (I'd have probably gone lower but it was on offer)
GTX 480
GT 240 - for a dedicated PhysX card, they're super cheap and the only time a GTX 480 really has trouble is with S3D or PhysX so I think its a much better buy than a second GTX 480 and its got a super low power draw.
80GB Intel X25-M SSD You can't spend $2000+ and not get an SSD, no other component will give you such an easily noticeable boost in general performance.
1TB Samsung F3
BD/DVD-RW combi drive
Core i7 930 No way you'd notice any CPU boost above this, its already super overkill for games. If you want any more grunt you'll be able to get a ~40% OC out of that thing if you want.
Corsair H50 water cooling Cos its cool and it means you can OC your processor later on if you want to.
Asus P6T X58 mobo with triple SLI + USB3 + Sata6 support

You get a copy of Resi 5 and Just Cause 2 free with it as well.

To me, that;s a much better rig than that Dell, and considering its more than $2k less, there's just no comparison. Even if they were the same price I'd choose this one in a flash

Links:

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=44398
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=51926
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48708
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34719&promoid=1058
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=41732
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49262
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48875
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=35603&vpn=P6T&manufacture=ASUS
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28797&promoid=1058
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=7842

As for the case I chose an Antec Nine Hundred for now. You'll gain no objective advantage by getting anything better than this but its a personal thing and if you want to spend a few more bucks on a fancy case, be my guest:

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21123&promoid=1058


If you need a copy of Windows, add this as well:

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=45271&vpn=GFC-00599&manufacture=Microsoft


Remember, be sure to set the GT 240 as a PhysX card in your Nvidia drivers if it does not do this automatically. Be sure to make the Mafia 2 demo the first thing you try out!


What do other GAFers think?

You just basically built my comp, with a few minor changes
Posted the pics a fee pages back. Used the msi big bang tho. Totally in love with it.

Got my 930 @ 4.2 freezing cold with my H50. It's hard to go against Asus.. But I love my MSI board

2 460s in SLI as opposed to the 480 with my old gts 250 for physx.

 

[brain_stew]

You just basically built my comp, with a few minor changes
Posted the pics a fee pages back. Used the msi big bang tho. Totally in love with it.

Got my 930 @ 4.2 freezing cold with my H50. It's hard to go against Asus.. But I love my MSI board

2 460s in SLI as opposed to the 480 with my old gts 250 for physx.

I was considering SLI 460s but felt it was a bit of an unnecessary headache for a novice, it means having to keep on top of driver updates and that's not for everybody. Plus, since this is meant to last the bigger framebuffer should come in handy. With GT 240s available so cheap, using so little power and there finally being some nice uses of PhysX I thik the extra card is a safe investment at a mere $65.

How you enjoying the rig? Tried the Mafia demo on it?

 

[NarcissisticJay]

I was considering SLI 460s but felt it was a bit of an unnecessary headache for a novice, it means having to keep on top of driver updates and that's not for everybody. Plus, since this is meant to last the bigger framebuffer should come in handy. With GT 240s available so cheap, using so little power and there finally being some nice uses of PhysX I thik the extra card is a safe investment at a mere $65.

How you enjoying the rig? Tried the Mafia demo on it?

Loving it, honestly couldn't be happier. The 930 is just a beast.. Overclocked much better than I was expecting. Sweet spot is just 200x21

I can pass occt @ 210x21 but the temp increase to ghz increase starts to see diminishing returns.. So I stuck with 4.2. Easier with the mem @ 2:10

All of this is with my vcore @ 1.286~

460s @ 815

1/2 of me wanted the 480 for the 1.5 GB frame buffer... But I think I built the rig well enough that a few gfx card upgrades will be all I need over the next few years. Just played it today, really impressed with the demo.

Not sure I see much of a difference with the 250 as opposed to just letting the CPU handle the physx, maybe I need a to test a different game..

 

[grkazan12]

Looked at cooling options on Cyberpower PC and they're offering a free upgrade to liquid cooling. I was just wondering is it worth it to use liquid cooling instead of fan cooling? and is it easily replaceable?

 

[kinggroin]

Crossfire is beyond shit, very rarely are drivers updated to support new releases in time.

The cards are underclocked and aren't supplied with enough power so they have no OCing headroom.

You're insanely limited by its 1GB framebuffer.

Its stupidly large.

Its just not a very good card, its ill thought out.


I'll put you together a config that I consider the absolute furthest anyone should realistically go before they hit major diminishing returns on NCIX.COM, for a $50 fee they'll build it for you and cover it with a warranty. This way you know you're spending in all the right areas and getting great components that can easily be upgraded used throughout. It'll probably come in @ ~$2000 and be much better than that Dell rig.

Hyperbole getting the best of ya mate. The card is a fucking beast, whether drivers from it's maker suck ass or not (or whether it's too big or a shitty value). You're pretty much right on everything but the bolded however; I've had zero problems pushing my 5970 well past 950mhz core and 1200mhz mem. That's hardly having NO OC headroom. They are simply undervolted to meet power standards A few tools out there can remedy that no problem (the card was MEANT to be overclocked in fact).

The 1GB FB isn't as nice as it could be, but we are still talking about a card that has to run well past 1080p with max settings and AA AND have a nice CPU before it starts becoming the limiting factor in your games (and this is before OCing the thing!). Again, hardly insanely limiting :lol Plus, if you're really stupid with your money, there's always the Ares!


Granted, I, in my right mind would NEVER recommend this card to aynone today. Not unless they were getting it for $400 or less (got mine for $375 after rebates). It's too expensive, too power hungery (though not nearly as bad as the 480s), waaaaaay too big, and you have to play around with drivers far too much to get the best out of it (FUCK YOU ATI). You can put someone off from buying this monstrosity without damn near spewing lies or exaggerating about the hardware.

If someone HAD to go dual GPU, I'd recommend two 460s without blinking once. There's still enough of a benefit imo, from going dual GPU when taking IQ into factor at high framerates. Thouh it seems, nVIDIA is the only manufacturer with their shit straight in this regard.

 

[brain_stew]

Hyperbole getting the best of ya mate. The card is a fucking beast, whether drivers from it's maker suck ass or not (or whether it's too big or a shitty value). You're pretty much right on everything but the bolded however; I've had zero problems pushing my 5970 well past 950mhz core and 1200mhz mem. That's hardly having NO OC headroom. They are simply undervolted to meet power standards A few tools out there can remedy that no problem (the card was MEANT to be overclocked in fact).

The 1GB FB isn't as nice as it could be, but we are still talking about a card that has to run well past 1080p with max settings and AA AND have a nice CPU before it starts becoming the limiting factor in your games (and this is before OCing the thing!). Again, hardly insanely limiting :lol


Granted, I, in my right mind would NEVER recommend this card to aynone today. Not unless they were getting it for $400 or less (got mine for $375 after rebates). It's too expensive, too power hungery (though not nearly as bad as the 480s), waaaaaay too big, and you have to play around with drivers far too much to get the best out of it (FUCK YOU ATI). You can put someone off from buying this monstrosity without damn near spewing lies or exaggerating about the hardware.

If someone HAD to go dual GPU, I'd recommend two 460s without blinking once. There's still enough of a benefit imo, from going dual GPU when taking IQ into factor at high framerates. Thouh it seems, nVIDIA is the only manufacturer with their shit straight in this regard.

Is it a stock design you have as the problem always seemed to be the lack of PCIe power connectors (card doesn't get enough juice) rather than the cores being able to take it. If you've got a card that can supply the cores with the power they need that's great, if not then you're probably going to struggle to hit 5870 speeds like damn near every review unit did.

I've just never liked the card, always seemed like a cheap cash in to me, and really ill thought out. At $375 that's different and hard to refuse but when it usually retails for $700 and can't stack upto SLI GTX 460s.

As for 1GB framebuffer issue, well I've seen numerous occasions where a 5870 can get bottlenecked by that, connect two of them cores to that same framebuffer and that just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Metro 2033 is one of the very few games that could use all that grunt and yet the 5970 is a huge disappointment in that game because its hitting that memory brick wall. I don't think its a stretch to believe that could be a future trend.

I dunno, maybe I'm just bitter at ATI for releasing such a ridiculous monstrosity and dropping the ball with Crossfire for so long, they should have never released the thing at the size it is and Crossfire has had plenty time to mature now.

 

[Deep Crow]

Hey GAF, I'm building a new PC, but it's been years since I've done so; I'm completely out of the loop when it comes to modern builds.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.462192

Does this build look alright to you all? Is it worth it to upgrade to an i7 versus an i5? Will I be screwed if I want to upgrade the processor down the road since they use different sockets? Also, will I need to buy any additional fans/cooling things?

I'd appreciate any help y'all can provide.

 

[brain_stew]

Can't see shit, captain.

 

[kinggroin]

Is it a stock design you have as the problem always seemed to be the lack of PCIe power connectors (card doesn't get enough juice) rather than the cores being able to take it. If you've got a card that can supply the cores with the power they need that's great, if not then you're probably going to struggle to hit 5870 speeds like damn near every review unit did.

I've just never liked the card, always seemed like a cheap cash in to me, and really ill thought out. At $375 that's different and hard to refuse but when it usually retails for $700 and can't stack upto SLI GTX 460s.

As for 1GB framebuffer issue, well I've seen numerous occasions where a 5870 can get bottlenecked by that, connect two of them cores to that same framebuffer and that just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Metro 2033 is one of the very few games that could use all that grunt and yet the 5970 is a huge disappointment in that game because its hitting that memory brick wall. I don't think its a stretch to believe that could be a future trend.

I dunno, maybe I'm just bitter at ATI for releasing such a ridiculous monstrosity and dropping the ball with Crossfire for so long, they should have never released the thing at the size it is and Crossfire has had plenty time to mature now.

I feel ya man, I really do. As an ATI owner, everday I see benchmarks showing hardware that technically should not be coming close to what I have, but do and sometimes even surpass it... well, it hurts.

I know plenty of folk who have no problem living with the crazy cost, heat, and power consumption of the 480s. Why? Because the company that supports them, FUCKING SUPPORTS THEM.

Needless to say, while I personally can manage enough so that all my games run wonderfully (thanks for the Mafia tip btw) in spite of ATI's drivers and support; this'll be the last time I go with something extravagent from them.

 

[Hawk269]

Look what ups just dropped off.

I'm excited. Now its time to not break anything putting it together.

I am currently building a rig, well a friend is for me, but with advise from those here. Looking at that pic, why would you need to run dual 460's? Reason I ask is the rig I am building is SLI ready with one 460 and my friend is suggesting that if I ever want to run dual's to try to get the same type of cards...I have the cash to do a 2nd card, but from what alot of folks are telling me is that it is WAY overblowing it as one 460 alone can handle everything that is out there at max.

So I am just currious as to why you are going dual 460's?

 

[Mairu]

Hey GAF, I'm building a new PC, but it's been years since I've done so; I'm completely out of the loop when it comes to modern builds.

Does this build look alright to you all? Is it worth it to upgrade to an i7 versus an i5? Will I be screwed if I want to upgrade the processor down the road since they use different sockets? Also, will I need to buy any additional fans/cooling things?

I'd appreciate any help y'all can provide.

Image isn't working--hold on

What you've got so far is really similar to what I ended up with. Awesome case. Only real difference is I went with an Asus mobo instead of GB. No need for additional cooling unless you plan on OCing (which is kinda worth it, with a 30-50$ air heatsink you can push the 750 pretty far)

 

[kinggroin]

I am currently building a rig, well a friend is for me, but with advise from those here. Looking at that pic, why would you need to run dual 460's? Reason I ask is the rig I am building is SLI ready with one 460 and my friend is suggesting that if I ever want to run dual's to try to get the same type of cards...I have the cash to do a 2nd card, but from what alot of folks are telling me is that it is WAY overblowing it as one 460 alone can handle everything that is out there at max.

So I am just currious as to why you are going dual 460's?

Just how important is having incredibly high IQ, resolution AND framerates to you? A single 460 will be fine for 1080p, 2-4x AA, and 45-60fps avg for nearly all games. A second one means 8xAA, at LEAST 1080p and STILL mainting 60fps. What's most important than your average or max framerate, is that your minimum stays high as well. You'll see a decent improvement in that regard, especially from games that support SLI well.

So, while you're starting to reach a point of diminishing returns, that little bit more just might be worth it to you in the end (especially in the future with more demanding games).

Just to drive the point home a little more, take a look at this chart. Pay attention especially to the 4xaa results on a single 460 versus two. We're talking about going from choppy and maybe unplayable to smooth and playable.

Now, like I mentioned earlier, your results vary per game. However, unlike ATI, nVIDIA does a damn good job of making sure SLI performance stay up to par no matter which title.

 

[Hawk269]

Just how important is having incredibly high IQ, resolution AND framerates to you? A single 460 will be fine for 1080p, 2-4x AA, and 45-60fps avg for nearly all games. A second one means 8xAA, at LEAST 1080p and STILL mainting 60fps. What's most important than your average or max framerate, is that your minimum stays high as well. You'll see a decent improvement in that regard, especially from games that support SLI well.

So, while you're starting to reach a point of diminishing returns, that little bit more just might be worth it to you in the end (especially in the future with more demanding games).

Just to drive the point home a little more, take a look at this chart. Pay attention especially to the 4xaa results on a single 460 versus two. We're talking about going from choppy and maybe unplayable to smooth and playable.

Now, like I mentioned earlier, your results vary per game. However, unlike ATI, nVIDIA does a damn good job of making sure SLI performance stay up to par no matter which title.

Thanks for that reply. I am mainly building my rig to play some PC games on my 60" HDTV. My main goals without breaking the bank was to have something that runs at minimum 1080p, good framerate and settings set to max. I have been out of the PC market as far as gaming for over 15 years or so, and Starcraft 2 has me back in the game, so I would want to run that game at Ultra settings at my desired resolution with good framerate.

I have heard the game itself does not support any AA, but it can be done via the card...so basically, I am on the fence in ordering a 2nd card because I have at least about $300.00 left in my rig budget and thinking of adding the 2nd card while I can get the exact same one.

Would appreciate anyone else's input as well. I dont like throwing more money at it if I do not need too...so it's not like that 300 I have left over is burning a hole in my pocket..I still have Halo Reach Legendary to get on 9/14...so it can be used for that...

 

[brain_stew]

Thanks for that reply. I am mainly building my rig to play some PC games on my 60" HDTV. My main goals without breaking the bank was to have something that runs at minimum 1080p, good framerate and settings set to max. I have been out of the PC market as far as gaming for over 15 years or so, and Starcraft 2 has me back in the game, so I would want to run that game at Ultra settings at my desired resolution with good framerate.

I have heard the game itself does not support any AA, but it can be done via the card...so basically, I am on the fence in ordering a 2nd card because I have at least about $300.00 left in my rig budget and thinking of adding the 2nd card while I can get the exact same one.

Would appreciate anyone else's input as well. I dont like throwing more money at it if I do not need too...so it's not like that 300 I have left over is burning a hole in my pocket..I still have Halo Reach Legendary to get on 9/14...so it can be used for that...

Getting matching cards doesn't matter.

If you were previously a console gamer then I guarantee you'll be satisfied with a single GTX 460. If not you buy one later on, no big loss.

 

[kinggroin]

Thanks for that reply. I am mainly building my rig to play some PC games on my 60" HDTV. My main goals without breaking the bank was to have something that runs at minimum 1080p, good framerate and settings set to max. I have been out of the PC market as far as gaming for over 15 years or so, and Starcraft 2 has me back in the game, so I would want to run that game at Ultra settings at my desired resolution with good framerate.

I have heard the game itself does not support any AA, but it can be done via the card...so basically, I am on the fence in ordering a 2nd card because I have at least about $300.00 left in my rig budget and thinking of adding the 2nd card while I can get the exact same one.

Would appreciate anyone else's input as well. I dont like throwing more money at it if I do not need too...so it's not like that 300 I have left over is burning a hole in my pocket..I still have Halo Reach Legendary to get on 9/14...so it can be used for that...

Start with 1 card. See how you like performance with the settings you'll play at. You might be suprised how acceptable it is (more so if you're coming from console-only gaming).

Like brain said, get another one later if you're not satisfied.

 

[Hawk269]

Start with 1 card. See how you like performance with the settings you'll play at. You might be suprised how acceptable it is (more so if you're coming from console-only gaming).

Like brain said, get another one later if you're not satisfied.

Thanks again for the advice...I was just concerned that in 2 months or so if I do decide to get another card that I would be screwed since I was under the impression it had to be the same exact on, same mfr etc...being that it does not apply...is a little reassuring.

 

[RedSwirl]

Do you guys let people talk about PC upgrades in this thread too?

I'm trying to figure out whether or not to upgrade my current desktop this fall or wait until the Spring or upgrade it at all.

I got it back in 2007:
8800GT
Quad Core 2.4GHz
3GB RAM
Vista 32bit.
144x x 900 monitor

It still runs most games admirably.

I was planning to upgrade the monitor and GPU around September for stuff like Crysis 2 and eventually The Witcher 2, as well as to better run current games like Bad Company 2, GTA IV, and ArmA II. Now none of the former two games however will be out until Spring next year.

I would need this thing to last until I decide to build a new system sometime in 2012. Should I wait or should I start upgrading now?

 

[brain_stew]

Do you guys let people talk about PC upgrades in this thread too?

I'm trying to figure out whether or not to upgrade my current desktop this fall or wait until the Spring or upgrade it at all.

I got it back in 2007:
8800GT
Quad Core 2.4GHz
3GB RAM
Vista 32bit.
144x x 900 monitor

It still runs most games admirably.

I was planning to upgrade the monitor and GPU around September for stuff like Crysis 2 and eventually The Witcher 2, as well as to better run current games like Bad Company 2, GTA IV, and ArmA II. Now none of the former two games however will be out until Spring next year.

I would need this thing to last until I decide to build a new system sometime in 2012. Should I wait or should I start upgrading now?

Get a Hyper 212+ and OC quad to 3.2ghz+
Buy a GTX 460

Sit back and enjoy awesome gaming for another couple years.

No need to do that yet of course but you might as well get cracking on OCing since its so little outlay.

 

[Shambles]

Do you guys let people talk about PC upgrades in this thread too?

I'm trying to figure out whether or not to upgrade my current desktop this fall or wait until the Spring or upgrade it at all.

I got it back in 2007:
8800GT
Quad Core 2.4GHz
3GB RAM
Vista 32bit.
144x x 900 monitor

It still runs most games admirably.

I was planning to upgrade the monitor and GPU around September for stuff like Crysis 2 and eventually The Witcher 2, as well as to better run current games like Bad Company 2, GTA IV, and ArmA II. Now none of the former two games however will be out until Spring next year.

I would need this thing to last until I decide to build a new system sometime in 2012. Should I wait or should I start upgrading now?

One surefire way to determine if you should upgrade or not is if you've put in a game you're really interested in, set it up, gotten into and been dissapointed how poorly it runs on your machine. Upgrading for the sake of upgrading risks all the buyers remorse afterwards and if it's also unneccesary actually hurts you as if you had waited until you were no longer happy with your performance, your upgrade later on for the same cash would have gotten you better performance.

The easiest way to cure the upgrade bug when you aren't totally convinced is to look into overclocking. Also upgrading components like your monitor that will improve your experience regardless of what hardware you are powering it with, be just as useful down the road and won't likely go down in price.

 

[msdstc]

Bumping this to the new page.

I'm in the market for a new PC, and my price range is around 1300. I want something that's going to run just about anything. The problem is I'm way out of the loop when it comes to computer parts. From what I've seen things are much cheaper now and have come along way, but I'm lost with all the new types of processors and graphics cards. So I found this package deal at best buy for about 1200 dollars. I know it's more expensive, but it's so much more convenient.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+Es...?id=pcmprd133000050037&skuId=9999133000050037

This is the one I'm really leaning towards right now. 8 gigs of ram, 1tb Hard drive, 24 inch monitor, and sleek looking. What's the catch here?

Also why is this one so much cheaper?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+Es...?id=pcmprd133000050036&skuId=9999133000050036

Like I said I'm way out of the loop on parts, processors, and graphics cards, so I really don't even know what to look for. Is this a good deal? Would I be able to get more for my money online?

 

[SamuraiX-]

This is on the very edge of your budget but it obliterates anything else I can find:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229199

Hey brain_stew, I had a question about this rig that you recommended me.

Do you think it'll last me at least 5 or 6 years with minimal upgrades? Now when I play games, I don't usually care to play them on the highest graphics settings if I can't. So I'm just asking, will it be necessary to replace my GPU or add more RAM and such within the next few years or will I be set for a while?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[DualShadow]

Hey guys need some tips what to look for in a monitor.

I was looking at something like this: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=558_1094&products_id=13292

But I've been out of the PC loop for far to many years and not sure what the standard is anymore.

This is a great thread and i appreciate all the help I've already been given.

 

[BrassMonkey1010]

Hey guys need some tips what to look for in a monitor.

I was looking at something like this: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=558_1094&products_id=13292

But I've been out of the PC loop for far to many years and not sure what the standard is anymore.

This is a great thread and i appreciate all the help I've already been given.

AOC is kind of a shitty brand..I would stick to Dell, ASUS, Acer, HP, Samsung, LG, or Veiwsonic. 1920x1080 is pretty much the norm, wouldn't go with a lower resolution.

 

[Mairu]

Dell LCDs are awesome, and quite often there is a deal/coupon going around that makes them cheaper. I have two Dell LCDs and they are my go-to brand of choice for computer monitors.

edit: example!
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...43&acd=10550055-1225267-u0t2172934f9fp0c0s441
Dell 23" for $199

 

[Hazaro]

Bumping this to the new page.

I'm in the market for a new PC, and my price range is around 1300. I want something that's going to run just about anything. The problem is I'm way out of the loop when it comes to computer parts. From what I've seen things are much cheaper now and have come along way, but I'm lost with all the new types of processors and graphics cards. So I found this package deal at best buy for about 1200 dollars. I know it's more expensive, but it's so much more convenient.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+Es...?id=pcmprd133000050037&skuId=9999133000050037

This is the one I'm really leaning towards right now. 8 gigs of ram, 1tb Hard drive, 24 inch monitor, and sleek looking. What's the catch here?

Also why is this one so much cheaper?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+Es...?id=pcmprd133000050036&skuId=9999133000050036

Like I said I'm way out of the loop on parts, processors, and graphics cards, so I really don't even know what to look for. Is this a good deal? Would I be able to get more for my money online?

Neither is a good deal. 1st one has a 5750 (not great), seconds has integrated.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22751630&postcount=11655

The CyberPower brain_stew linked has decent specs for the money if you realllllly didn't want to build it yourself.

 

[NinjaTehFish]

I have a question regarding servers if someone could help: can you run multiple clients from the one machine? eg: 2 x(or more) 32 player cod severs from the one box? thank you.

 

[DualShadow]

AOC is kind of a shitty brand..I would stick to Dell, ASUS, Acer, HP, Samsung, LG, or Veiwsonic. 1920x1080 is pretty much the norm, wouldn't go with a lower resolution.

Yeah i figured they were since i never heard of them. Have you (or anyone else) used a BenQ monitor before? I'm saw some decent reviews for one.

 

[cdyhybrid]

I apologize if this question isn't where it should be, feel free to direct me elsewhere if not. I'm looking to replace my nearly 6-year-old computer with the release of SC2 and I'm basically looking for a rig that can run SC2 at 1980x1080 (at ideally the highest settings, but if that's going to cause a significant price jump I can deal with going lower). I'd basically be rebuilding my entire system (want new 5.1 speakers, would need a new monitor, upgrade to Windows 7, etc.) and don't want to spend a ton because I don't really get paid much :lol

I have basically no experience with hardware (prior to this I just bought premade stuff from Dell) but I think I could figure out how to assemble the PC from parts, assuming that someone can help me pick out parts that are actually compatible :lol What kind of price tag am I looking at for a system like this (with and/or without the monitor and the speakers)? Would the $600 template in the OP meet this criteria?

P.S. On the speakers, I'm not an audiophile by any means so as long as they're decent and give me good bass for when I play music, I'll be happy.

 

[Vlodril]

I have a problem and since this is the only pc thread i can find ill ask here. If there is another thread please point me to it.

So I tried the mafia 2 demo and saw that even with getting physx on or off i stayed at the same fps. Found it weird and run Mass effect 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 and Darkstar One all cap at 24 fps.

I had d3d on i closed it. Also looked at the ccc and i have vsync to wait for app to specify and triple buffering off. I hit reset to defaults anyway and still get the same fps.

When i tried running a non steam one i got 100. Is there some option or something i have turned on that can maybe cap it at that point?

 

[Knch]

80GB Intel X25-M SSD You can't spend $2000+ and not get an SSD, no other component will give you such an easily noticeable boost in general performance.

...

What do other GAFers think?

This GAFer thinks there are far better SSDs available for about the same price, Corsair Force series comes to mind... (Actually slightly cheaper on this side of the pond)

(Based on results found here http://www.anandtech.com/bench/SSD)

 

[Shadowman16]

Right I've come up with a suitable rig for bigboss370, it comes to about $1800CAD after rebates and that's with assembly and testing. I went super high end but didn't spend any money wastefully.

6GB DDR3 from G. Skill no need at all for more than that unless you're doing rendering professionally or something.
1KW modular Corsair PSU (I'd have probably gone lower but it was on offer)
GTX 480
GT 240 - for a dedicated PhysX card, they're super cheap and the only time a GTX 480 really has trouble is with S3D or PhysX so I think its a much better buy than a second GTX 480 and its got a super low power draw.
80GB Intel X25-M SSD You can't spend $2000+ and not get an SSD, no other component will give you such an easily noticeable boost in general performance.
1TB Samsung F3
BD/DVD-RW combi drive
Core i7 930 No way you'd notice any CPU boost above this, its already super overkill for games. If you want any more grunt you'll be able to get a ~40% OC out of that thing if you want.
Corsair H50 water cooling Cos its cool and it means you can OC your processor later on if you want to.
Asus P6T X58 mobo with triple SLI + USB3 + Sata6 support

You get a copy of Resi 5 and Just Cause 2 free with it as well.

To me, that;s a much better rig than that Dell, and considering its more than $2k less, there's just no comparison. Even if they were the same price I'd choose this one in a flash

Links:

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=44398
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=51926
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48708
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34719&promoid=1058
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=41732
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=49262
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48875
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=35603&vpn=P6T&manufacture=ASUS
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=28797&promoid=1058
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=7842

As for the case I chose an Antec Nine Hundred for now. You'll gain no objective advantage by getting anything better than this but its a personal thing and if you want to spend a few more bucks on a fancy case, be my guest:

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21123&promoid=1058


If you need a copy of Windows, add this as well:

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=45271&vpn=GFC-00599&manufacture=Microsoft


Remember, be sure to set the GT 240 as a PhysX card in your Nvidia drivers if it does not do this automatically. Be sure to make the Mafia 2 demo the first thing you try out!


What do other GAFers think?

I'm looking to get a new PC for gaming (mainly for running Mafia 2 maxed out) . Would you recommend the above setup for that?

 

[RedSwirl]

Everybody keeps telling me to overclock my CPU, but I have no clue where to begin on the safety precautions and such. Wouldn't I need to buy more cooling to do that? What about space around the tower? I can't afford to fry this thing.

 

[Owensboro]

Sell it and get an AMD AM3 build, more futureproof and a lot faster than anything you can build using your pre exisiting parts, for the GPU get a GTX 460.

Damn, I was hoping this wasn't the answer. I was hoping to just slowly upgrade the thing every 3-5 years instead of building a whole new PC again.

Is this really the only hope I have? (old post here http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22762926&postcount=11740) I'm not really looking to make a top-of-the-line PC again, just increase performance to the point where it doesn't take me forever to load up a Starcraft 2 multiplayer map.

 

[Shuusui]

Serious question:

If I were to get a cheap version of any Windows, could I theoretically walk into my college campus IT vendor, buy Windows Ultimate 7 for $10 and upgrade easily to the full 32.bit version? Just realised I'd have to spend upwards of $270 for the full version of Ultimate.

 

[Hazaro]

I'm looking to get a new PC for gaming (mainly for running Mafia 2 maxed out) . Would you recommend the above setup for that?

Not for most. It's not value oriented.

See here for some solid value based builds: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22751630&postcount=11655

Everybody keeps telling me to overclock my CPU, but I have no clue where to begin on the safety precautions and such. Wouldn't I need to buy more cooling to do that? What about space around the tower? I can't afford to fry this thing.

Google your chip + mobo. If not that, then google the chip.
It won't fry or kill itself unless you do something horrrrrrrrrrrrible.
Aftermarket HS is preferable.

212+, N520, Mugen II, Vendetta II

Damn, I was hoping this wasn't the answer. I was hoping to just slowly upgrade the thing every 3-5 years instead of building a whole new PC again.

Is this really the only hope I have? (old post here http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22762926&postcount=11740) I'm not really looking to make a top-of-the-line PC again, just increase performance to the point where it doesn't take me forever to load up a Starcraft 2 multiplayer map.

You could overclock your CPU to 3Ghz and it should fair much better.

 

[Salaadin]

For overclocking, do you have to overclock everything in your system? A lot of the guides I read talk about OCing RAM and GPU along with the CPU but dont really specify if its absolutely necessary. Can I just OC my CPU without touching anything else?

 

[dalin80]

For overclocking, do you have to overclock everything in your system? A lot of the guides I read talk about OCing RAM and GPU along with the CPU but dont really specify if its absolutely necessary. Can I just OC my CPU without touching anything else?

You can and its often easier to just OC the CPU, you will have to unlink the RAM but thats often just a tab in the BIOS.

Then once thats stable you can easily OC the GPU via the control centre in windows.

 

[ElyrionX]

Alright i'm sorely tempted to build a PC (i5 760 and GTX460) soon but i'm really stumped on two points:

1. 4 or 8 gigs of RAM? I know most builds recommend 4 now but how future proof is that? I'm leaning towards 8 but RAM isn't cheap these days and I'm trying to find a nice balance between cost and performance. I'm not too keen on buying 4 now and adding another 4 down the road as I've had a bad experience in the past with uncompatible RAM that conflicted despite being from the same manufacturer.

2. SSDs. To do or not to do? I'm looking at the Intel X25M 80 gig but I'm really hesitant on being an early adopter and I'm concerned about the performance degradation over time of SSDs. Is it better to wait and see here?

The rig is meant primarily for gaming and nothing else. Any advice?

 

[Fireflu]

Bumping my question as have had no reply:

"Hey what does gaf recommend for a good CPU fan for an i5 750 (over clocking purposes)

This one seems highly recommended and is very decently priced, thoughts and comments appreciated muchly "

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176157

-- Also seeing as how im planning to OC in the near future is there some kind of newby guide (the do's and don'ts), this may also be useful for anyone else totally new to the concept of over clocking! I want to gain the benefits of OC but am worried ill blow something up in the process D:

 

[Mr_Brit]

Alright i'm sorely tempted to build a PC (i5 760 and GTX460) soon but i'm really stumped on two points:

1. 4 or 8 gigs of RAM? I know most builds recommend 4 now but how future proof is that? I'm leaning towards 8 but RAM isn't cheap these days and I'm trying to find a nice balance between cost and performance. I'm not too keen on buying 4 now and adding another 4 down the road as I've had a bad experience in the past with uncompatible RAM that conflicted despite being from the same manufacturer.

2. SSDs. To do or not to do? I'm looking at the Intel X25M 80 gig but I'm really hesitant on being an early adopter and I'm concerned about the performance degradation over time of SSDs. Is it better to wait and see here?

The rig is meant primarily for gaming and nothing else. Any advice?

Just get 4GB now, if you need more in the future you can pick up 2 more sticks and chances are they'll be cheaper than they are now. SSDs won't improve game performance but will help in other applications as well as making Windows feel a lot smoother, it's up to you to decide whether it is worth buying it for that or not. Concerning performance degradation, don't worry about it, just use W7 and make sure TRIM is on.

Bumping my question as have had no reply:

"Hey what does gaf recommend for a good CPU fan for an i5 750 (over clocking purposes)

This one seems highly recommended and is very decently priced, thoughts and comments appreciated muchly "

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176157

-- Also seeing as how im planning to OC in the near future is there some kind of newby guide (the do's and don'ts), this may also be useful for anyone else totally new to the concept of over clocking! I want to gain the benefits of OC but am worried ill blow something up in the process D:

Do not get that. Pick up a Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus, it is infinitely better and quieter. You can pick it up for around £23.

 

[sharkmuncher]

Serious question:

If I were to get a cheap version of any Windows, could I theoretically walk into my college campus IT vendor, buy Windows Ultimate 7 for $10 and upgrade easily to the full 32.bit version? Just realised I'd have to spend upwards of $270 for the full version of Ultimate.

Yes. I've gone from XP to 7 just fine. If you want a clean install there is a simple registry change once you install the upgrade version that allows it to be recognized as the full version and does not require a previous copy of windows.

 

[Owensboro]

You could overclock your CPU to 3Ghz and it should fair much better.

Thanks for the response! So upgrading to 64-bit Windows 7 and installing more RAM would have no effect? I noticed that my RAM was maxing out when loading up SC maps. I just kind of figured that was the first problem that should be addressed.

Second question that I'm sure has been answered 100 times: How do you overclock a CPU without screwing up anything (there is a good chance I would screw it up!).

Thanks again!

 

[1stStrike]

Thanks for that reply. I am mainly building my rig to play some PC games on my 60" HDTV. My main goals without breaking the bank was to have something that runs at minimum 1080p, good framerate and settings set to max. I have been out of the PC market as far as gaming for over 15 years or so, and Starcraft 2 has me back in the game, so I would want to run that game at Ultra settings at my desired resolution with good framerate.

I have heard the game itself does not support any AA, but it can be done via the card...so basically, I am on the fence in ordering a 2nd card because I have at least about $300.00 left in my rig budget and thinking of adding the 2nd card while I can get the exact same one.

Would appreciate anyone else's input as well. I dont like throwing more money at it if I do not need too...so it's not like that 300 I have left over is burning a hole in my pocket..I still have Halo Reach Legendary to get on 9/14...so it can be used for that...

As I stated in my PM, your best bet at this point (especially if it's just for SCII) - drop the extra graphics card and get yourself an SSD. Your biggest bottleneck in your setup is your HDD at this point. Install your OS and SCII onto the SSD and don't look back.

 

[Salaadin]

Would an Antec EA650W be enough to handle an OCed i5 750?

Full rig here:

Mobo: GA-P55-UD4P
CPU: i5 750
GPU: Radeon HD5850
RAM: 4GBs DDR3 1333
SSD: Corsair C300 64GB
HDD: WD 7200RPM 640GB

 

[zerodayPopbot]

Is 20-25c an okay temperature for a stock i5 760, with a Hyper 212+?

I'm thinking it's high. Maybe I didn't install the cooler right.